This past February was deemed the month of award shows, celebrity looks and unattainable glamour. Millions of women across the global spent hours critiquing and lusting over designer dresses, embellished heels and middle-aged celebrity women not looking a day over 30. However, luxury goods and over-the-top looks derive from hours of preparation, make-up and a salary larger than most of us can imagine.

In response to award shows, women turn to social media to discuss looks and majority of the comments aren't always positive. Twitter’s past research has concluded that women are 50% more likely to say something negative about themselves than positive on Twitter. Not only does it affect women personally, but also men and women are said to have skewed realities and expectations of beauty. 

In order to combat these insecurities and rebuild the self-esteem of women across the world, Twitter and Dove partnered up introducing an inspiring video ad that was initially released during the pre-show of the Academy Awards:

#SpeakBeautiful is a campaign directed towards women, encouraging them to think positively about themselves and others. The premise of the ad was based on extensive Twitter research which revealed that four out of every five negative tweets posted about beauty and body image are women putting themselves down. Both companies seek to make a difference; therefore, Dove is currently using a Twitter tool that identifies key words related to the Oscars that trend through social media. Examples include body image, weight, appearance, etc. With this information, Twitter created an account that sends positive messages to women who are creating negative posts about themselves.

With this business-to-consumer interaction, Dove is hoping to create the “domino effect,” reaching one woman but impacting many on the concepts of self-esteem and beauty. Not only does #SpeakBeautiful correlate with Dove’s beauty campaign, but also Twitter is attempting to improve positive sentiment on their social media platform and “crack down” on negative behavior.

Some have argued this is simply an advertising tactic, attempting to build a more intimate relationship with the Dove brand and the consumer. However, regardless of the company’s intentions, the topic of true beauty should be addressed and women across the world should be confident in who they are and pass the message on to others.